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RIYADH: If there was any doubt the recent off-field tensions between Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli might spill onto the pitch, the doubt was emphatically dispelled on Tuesday evening.
Ten cards were shown during their delayed Saudi Pro League matchday 3 clash, including a booking for Al-Hilal head coach Simone Inzaghi. Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, however, the result never really appeared in any doubt after an early Al-Hilal goal, and in the end, the Blues cruised to a 3-0 home victory with the goals coming courtesy of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Crysencio Summerville and Ollie Watkins.
Both cubs have been dealing with issues of various kinds in these early stages of the season, some of which have caused conflicts between them, given that they are connected by the common threads of ownership by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Their comparative transfer activity, for example, has sparked controversy. With Al-Ahli in desperate need of a midfielder to replace the departing Franck Kessie, the signing of Artem Bondarenko did little to appease supporters, and his glaring miss in a 3-1 defeat by Al-Kholood last weekend did little to help the Ukrainian’s cause as he struggles to win favor with the fans.
Al-Hilal, meanwhile, secured the services of Ollie Watkins, offloaded Karim Benzema and Ali Al-Bulayhi by mutual consent, and are reportedly finalizing a deal with Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli.
After the PIF announced in August the acquisition of the remaining shares in both clubs (as well as the other two members of Saudi football’s “big four,” Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad), an aggressive social media campaign alleging favoritism toward Al-Hilal emerged online.
Adding fuel to the fire in the lead-up to Tuesday’s game, retired Al-Ahli icon Taiseer Al-Jassam, during an appearance on official Saudi football broadcaster Thmanyah, compared the two sides’ transfer activity and alleged that Al-Hilal’s deals were being financed by an “unknown source.”
This prompted Al-Hilal to release an official statement expressing their displeasure about the comments — which was followed, just hours before kickoff, by the blockbuster announcement that many fans had been waiting for: Kingdom Holdings, headed by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, had officially acquired 70 percent of Al-Hilal, making the club the first of the big four to be privatized.
Whether or not all the controversy and behind-the-scenes developments were the reason, what followed when the actual match got underway was one of Al-Hilal’s best performances under Inzaghi.
In the ninth minute, Summerville received the ball deep in his own half before weaving past Mohammed Bakor and driving toward the box, carrying the move into the final third. His pass toward Sultan Mandash was intercepted by Zakaria Hawsawi but Mandash quickly recovered to slip Milinkovic-Savic through on goal, and the Serbian blasted the ball past Edouard Mendy for the opener.
Summerville got a goal of his own just 15 minutes later, after a Roger Ibanez clearance fell to Ruben Neves outside the box. The midfielder evaded Eduard Spertsyan and Ziyad Al-Johani to thread a through ball to Summerville, who finished from a tight angle at the near post to give Al-Hilal a two-goal lead. It was his second strike in two games, after grabbing his first goal for the club against Al-Khaleej on Friday.
The pressure on Al-Ahli continued to mount and they conceded an indirect free-kick in the box when Mendy handled a back pass around the half-hour mark. But it was in the minutes just before the half-time whistle when Al-Ahli’s game completely fell apart.
In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, Ivan Toney was booked for a challenge on Al-Hilal right-back Mohammed Mahzari. Merih Demiral decided to enter the fray, pulling Mahzari up from the ground by his shirt and sparking a scuffle between the players.
Demiral was booked, a member of Al-Ahli’s coaching staff was sent off, and the team found themselves playing with two center-backs each on a yellow card, Ibanez having been booked in the 11th minute.
It took only three minutes for Al-Ahli’s worst fears in this situation to be realized, when Demiral fouled Summerville in transition to earn his marching orders just before half-time, capping a dismal first 45 for the visitors.
The second half began with the introduction of Watkins for Mohammed Kader Meite. Meanwhile, Al-Ahli made three changes as they shifted into a 4-4-1, with Firas Al-Buraikan coming on at right wing in place of Francisco Trincao, who had failed to make much of an impression against an energetic Al-Hilal.
But while Al-Ahli did come close to pulling one back on a couple of occasions, Al-Hilal never really looked seriously troubled, perhaps dispelling some of the fears fans had coming into this season about their ability to protect a lead. Last season, for example, they surrendered a 3-0 advantage to Al-Ahli in the space of just 12 minutes. This time, there was little cause for concern; Al-Hilal were organized, efficient and focused throughout, leaving Al-Ahli little space to breathe.
As the minutes ticked by, the home fans clamored for a goal from their latest signing, as Watkins brought energy and presence to the attack, drawing a flurry of crosses his way.
In the 78th minute, Summerville appeared to have secured his third goal contribution of the night when his curled cross found Watkins, who sent the Kingdom Arena into raptures with a headed goal, only for the assistant referee to rule it out for offside.
Watkins was not to be denied, however. In the 86th minute, he headed home a Sultan Mandash cross from the right flank, the ball clipping the post before rolling past Mendy into the net, and this time it stood. The Al-Hilal faithful erupted as the stadium announcer called Watkins’ name, and the player grabbed a club scarf thrown from the stands to celebrate.
The victory moved Al-Hilal top of the SPL standings with the maximum 12 points from four games, ahead of local rivals Al-Nassr on goal difference. Al-Ahli remain in seventh place on just six points after a second-consecutive defeat, with questions already being asked about head coach Marino Pusic, less than a month into the job.
Both teams are next in action on Sept. 4, when Al-Hilal will make the short trip to face city rivals Al-Shabab, and Al-Ahli will host Al-Riyadh in Jeddah.
